RISP Foot Pursuit 5K

I had heard some great things about this race from Crutchley and others, and I was intrigued...by the post-race BBQ. The flattish 5K on a beautiful course held some appeal, too, but a burger at 10:30 AM? Sign me up! I registered not just with the charbroiled meat in mind, I also had aspirations of taking down my 5K road PR of 16:21 set at the CVS race in Providence last year. It would be a long shot, as I'm in the midst of a heavy training block, but it could't hurt to give it a go.

I woke up on race day with some general body soreness after spending a good chunk of the previous day moving rocks around the yard. I felt like a little oil in the joints would have done me wonders, but WD-40 is apparently not intended for human use, so I instead settled for the runner's cure-all: the foam roller.

Superfluous Anecdote: Any foam rolling in the house inevitably gets noticed by Seb. He has a nose for it, like a dog for bacon, and he thinks that it must be some kind of game we invented just for him. As soon as I start to roll, he runs in and sits on the roller. Now I have to stop and balance on one spot so he doesn't fly off and hit his head. Do you know what it's like to have all of your weight on one-square-inch of your IT band? It hurts. A lot. I start to cry out in pain, and he gets all giggly and then falls and hits his head anyway, which turns into a meltdown that I have to comfort. Foam rolling session complete.

In any case, after rolling/playing/crying with Seb for a bit, I drove over to Narragansett for the race. The day was cool and breezy, so, after chatting briefly with Mike B. and Seth about the conditions, I took a longer-than-usual warm-up to give my body a chance to work up a sweat and to wake up my creaky legs. I felt ready to go as the start approached, and I found a spot up front near Tommy and Seth, and directly behind Derek Jakoboski, whom we've recently discovered is in shape and also does actually do workouts. It was strange to be starting in the second row of a local race. We were surrounded by children, high school girls, old men, and a few guys wearing headphones. I'd love to know what these people are thinking, but I can't find a nice way to ask them. "Umm, what in the world do you think you're doing?" might come across the wrong way. My best passive-aggressive idea so far is to step on the back of one of their shoes as the race starts and then say, "Oh, your shoe fell off already? Maybe you should have started farther back."

Well, I didn't do any of that and, as the rifle sounded, found myself trying to navigate through the menagerie I described in the previous paragraph. I ran neck-and-neck with a high school girl for a bit, drafted off fast start hall-of-famer "Gray Shirt Man" for a few strides, darted laterally to pass a few 6-year-olds, and finally fell into step behind Derek. All of this action happened in the first few hundred meters. After that, I neither passed nor was passed by anyone for the rest of the race. The end.

I stuck right on Derek's heels for maybe half a mile, but the pace was sub-5:00, and that was too hot for me, so I eased off the accelerator to something more comfortable. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Goldilocks gear ("just right"), and I slowed down too much, hitting the mile in 5:19. I also suddenly had company in the form of the talented Keven O'Neil. I tried to push the second mile to create some separation, but he wouldn't give in for the longest time. I was working so hard, I started hallucinating images of Jeff Walker on the sidewalk. But wait, this was no mirage, Jeff was really there, having been forced to take some downtime following surgery but still having the energy to get out and cheer us on. I think he passed on some of his vitality, as I picked up the pace after going by him. Thanks, Jeff! As I approached the third mile, I finally couldn't hear Keven's breathing, and when I looked back, it wasn't Keven but Tommy who appeared behind me. I was momentarily psyched until I realized that meant he was gaining on me. Stay back, Tommy!!

Mile 1.4. Trying to hold off O'Neil.
[Photo and Precise Mileage Credit: Jeff "The Mirage" Walker]

The second mile was 5:23, and any hope of a PR was quickly slipping away. Derek had put a ton of time on me between miles 0.5 and 1.5, and while he wasn't pulling any farther away, his lead was "too big to fail." In addition, two things were working against a fast finish. One was a surprisingly stiff headwind along Ocean Rd. The other was a tight right shin muscle that has been hampering my track workouts over the past few weeks. This same issue plagued me often in college, and I have come to realize I am powerless against it's evil forces. It renders my foot useless, and as I slap away at the ground, each foot strike ratchets up the tightness more and more. It's my nemesis, and I have yet to find a way to beat it.

I pushed through the wind as hard as I could manage and mustered a little kick, but I lost all motivation as I watched Derek cross the line right around the time I'd hoped to run. I crossed in 16:33 and looked back to see Tommy hold off a fast charging Keven O'Neil. Seth arrived a minute later in 7th with yet another PR. Mike B. ran well for 17th, Mike C. ran an awesome time (four 2s - 22:22 - can't get much cooler than that), and Steve Schonning crossed a short time after, already having biked to the race from Westerly. We locked up the team win for both men and women (kudos to Shara, Beth, and others for superb races on their end).

The Victors!
[Credit: The lovely Katie Garvin]

One final note: This race is known to have a very generous awards stash, and while I honestly don't care whether or not I get more than a handshake after a race, going into the awards ceremony, I was feeling like a kid on Christmas about to open his stocking. Well, it turned out my stocking (actually, a boot-shaped pint glass, which was pretty cool) was empty. Wah wah. Interestingly, the age group award winners all received gift certificates, so if' I'd run a bit slower, I could have made off with a better prize. This wasn't as bad as being given a gift and then having it snatched out of your hands (or off the roof of your car), as happened at Run for the Pumpkins (yes, I'm going to keep bringing that up; it was traumatizing), but it is a close second.

Nevertheless, this was a well run race, the post-race cookout was fabulous, and the prizes were quite generous...if you got one.

Next up: The Quahog Mile - 5/11